CHAPTER SIX SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN Objectives Learners should be able to: Define the term system develo, Outline the stages State the activities pment life cycle involved in system development life cycle under problem identification Ee 7 a 2 & 2coduction stems are created to soly eral s¥8 solve prob Shave been around for a long i lems, The ideas about th epithe genetic model, N ea Many variation ¢ software development life ¢ ila » New software ations exist, such as the waterfall model ad to meet new challenge: Nare need to be d , aves _ ip i Soe nees in business developed and existing software may mssembly fine, an SDLC aims to produce hy Y: Like anything that is manufactured ons, based on customer requirements, at me int ing st mod expel ster” i aystem fi collection of components or Pp , A arts that we ample, a computer system which is made ip of har — together to achieve some objectives, for os ardware and softwa oftware, a school system which is yp of administrators, parent cl ude UP Ot eens eone Y teachers, learners, government et rehree main components, namely input, processing and output etc, Basically, a system is made up ° singa , input output Fig 6.1 Basic system components gystem development life cycle (SDLC) | gstems development life cycle is composed of a number of clearly defined stages which are used by semsanalysts and systems developers to plan for, design, build, test, and deliver information systems. stems development life cycle concept places emphasis on hardware and software configurations, gystem can be composed of hardware only, software only, or a combination of both. Systems analyst 4 systems analyst is someone who studies an organisation's computer system, identifies the problems ss the current or existing system, and then recommends the best solution to solve the problems using computer technology so that the organisation operate ina more efficient and effective way. The systems analyst might be part of the organisation or from a contracted software development company. Some of the duties of a systems analyst are: + Identifies the problems of the current system. , , + Works with the management and system users and determine their requirements. + Carries out the feasibility study to determine whether the business will afford to implement the system. + Finds out facts important to the + Determines the human and compu + Participates in the process of system " + Identify training needs of the organisation. oe * Assist in the development of programs and office layout for the organisation + Suggests the best method to implement the new system spjectives + Maintain the new system for the user so that it meets its obj + Write and maintain system documentation. design of the new system. iter procedures that will make up the system. implementation. 143i i systems analyst acts as: " lara p= Hire=ny on called or hited to identify problems in a system : A supporting expert: draws together professional expertise concerning computer hardware and software and their uses in business. + Anagent of change: bring new ideas into the organisation Qualities of a systems analyst + Must have good oral and written communication skills. + Must be able to work as a team. + Must be well experienced in computers and at top managerial levels. + Must have good managerial skills. + Must be a problem solver and see problems as challenges. + Must be self-motivated. + Must be well disciplined, Must be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines, Activity 6.1 Research on the internet to find out the required qualifications for one to become a systems analyst. Reasons why systems are developed Many Teasons may arise which may prompt the introduction of new system in an organisation. Some of the main reasons are described below: 1. Improved service Systems requests are often aimed at i the organisation. 3. More information capable of analysing market 4. Stronger controls A system may not have al aera I controls on accurate dat leadi e, loss of income, and even system fa ae a cuaae cat the company for different use ve may i ed by ‘The current system could be ¢ ashore design weaknesses, or the cha 6. Changes in technology ing needs, ta entry, *Pensive to oy era intaii ™ nging dem; Perate and maintain as a result of technical proble™ ‘ands of the business, i 144vailabil eee on new hardware and software may encourage an organisations to change their ways of operation. For example, barcode readers at Point Of Sale in supermarkets. 7. Change of government policies New government laws and policies can force organisations to change their systems. g, Improves business image rd. Customers are usu- ‘The business will want to improve i ally attracted to an organisation with a good image. its appeal and image to the outside wot 9. Boost staff morale The business will want to motivate its workers by having a new improved system that is efficient. 10. Competition ‘The business wants to comp For example, introduction o} 11. Sources of system projects Request of systems projects may come from various areas, ganisation. Following are some of the sources: 12. User requests Users of a company work usually with the systems Users may experience that the current system is not ple, users may request an online system for custome! business with them. ete with other organisations who are in the same ATMs by most banks in Zimbabwe both internal and external to an or- ith customers on a daily basis. ifficult to learn. For exam- status for their accounts and interact wi t flexible and it is di rs to obtain instant or orders. 13. Top-management directives Top managers could generate a system request that can work efficiently to meet new company objectives. for systems projects. 14. Existing systems Errors or problems with existing systems can trigger requests 15. Information systems Systems project reques| is possible if Information 8 tions and user needs. lepartment as suggestions. This involved with company opera- department ‘om the information systems d id managers are i t can come fr system staff members an‘ Other sources ; / / Changes in government regulations and reporting requirements. {New releases or version of software packages used in the existing systems. «Competitors offering of new products ‘and services such as online banking or technical support through telephone or Web site. / ‘Advances in technology: For example, installation of a new scanning system to automate retail sales 145Fig 6.2 Sources of system requests Activity 6.2 Identify other reasons why systems are developed. System development life cycle Stages Following are the different stages of system development life cycle: + Problem identification + Feasibility study + Systems analysis + Systems Design + Systems development and testing + Implementation + Evaluation and maintenance Hg6.8 Stages ofthe system ae ‘iiiaaiSRL,problem identification In this first stage of the systems development life cycle, the analyst is concerned with correctly identifying problems of the current system, opportunities, and objectives. This stage is critical to the success of the rest of the project, because no one wants to waste subsequent time addressing the wrong problems. Identifying objectives is also important as the analyst must first understand what the aad trying to do. The following people are involved in identifying the problems in the system: « the users + systems analysts + systems managers coordinating the project A preliminary invéstigation, initial study phase, or planning phase is a brief study of the system that gives a clear picture of what actually the system is like. It is carried out so as to: a, Understand the problem or opportunity ‘The system owner, systems analyst and the system user must sit together to analyse the prob- lem since they all have a different level of understanding of the system. During this session, the project team ask the system owner and system users several questions to gain more understanding that leads to possible new system. Define the project scope and constraints The specific project boundaries from the system owners’ view of the existing system are de- fined. Hardware, software, time and organisational policy constraints are identified. ©. Perform fact finding : Fact finding is done to gather basic information about the current system system and future system Examples of fact finding techniques are interview, questionnaire, record sampling and obser- vation. 4. Estimate project development time and cost , “The estimate cost of money needed to run the project development and the project time schedule are given. ©. Give expected benefits of ‘the system ‘The benefits of the proposed system can be to improve the efficiency of the company, to satis- fy the customers’ needs, improve the image of the organisation etc Attheend of this activity, the projectteam willwritea report ‘and present the result and recommendation to the management, With this data available, the choices can be + leave the system as it is + improve the current system + develop a new system 147ee in the school thet can be improved by use of computers, ct one area from the areas identified above and list the problems faced by users of the collects data about the system using a variety of techniques such as interview, face-to-face communication between two or more people in order to obtain ©ws can also be done over the phone but the most common ones are face to face, 1 be carried out with users of the current system, management, project financers or (one tive that would be involved in the system. One-on-one or group interviews can be carried out, expressions can help th ine if the nec is telling the truth, P the researcher to determine if ation can be coll , - could be ans collected even from the illiterate since the Tespondent's language ° Firs hand information is collected, earch vet can probe to get more information,pisadvantages 1 It is expensive sin e P! ince the researcher has to travel to the interview venue. 2. Difficult to remain anonymous. 3. Itis time consuming as more 4. Good interview techniques aie spent travelling and carrying out the interview. . Good in are required as failur isappoil Biased informati "i re may lead to disappointments. 5. tion can be given since the respondent may not tell he truth, Record inspection tinvolves scrutinising/studying existing system documents like filled in application forms in order to, find ean documentation will provide the analyst the titles and names of stakeholders who. are involve wit h the system. This will help the analyst formulate questions for interviews or questionnaires to ask of sta keholders, in order to gain additional requirements. Record inspection helps the analyst to find missing information in old documents. They may also find steps that are unnecessarily repeated on different documents Advantages Disadvantages Questionnaii nnaire ‘i A questionnaire is a document witl ly crafted questions to be answered by the respondent by fi Ng on the spaces provid population sample an on ‘used and organised aroun 7 that users will complete "N-ended questions are gal Wn view, ‘ ms ht Questions are guided questions ‘st putting a tick on given options: Spaced be foe 0 Clos by Advantages ‘Accurate information is collected from system records, Shows how data is collected within the system Shows the exact data that is collected ‘Shows information that must be produced by the system First-hand information is obtained. Gives a good idea of the ways things are actually done rather thi to be done. an how they are supposed ugh all system records. Itis time consuming to go thror go through and some ol Manual files can be tiresome to Confidential files are not given to the researcher Documentation may difficult for an outsider to understand Some records may be outdated and irrelevant | the data may be illegible. jh careful fed, Questionnaires are used wh nad when collecting information dd the project objective: Qu them. A questionnaire contains opt filling questions which require the respondent to expres re the respondent jonnaires can be en collecting information from a widely from many people. The questions should estionnaires should not be too long, to en-ended and closed questions. s his or her just chooses Yes or No, True of False oF whe t F istributed personally or by post. | Que Effective when collecting lot of data. 149,~ joo was OANA 6 salteyueapy rope fun ag suondo Waals UO > eHlumand as gg ‘nb papins axe stonsanb por wou dq 20 Ajpousiod pornqunstp aq t : > aN], “ON 40 SAA SosoOUD Jsnf uopUodsas au 249KTM SUF Nb Pasoy ‘M9IA ua Jo auv suonsonb papus. 4) 40 SH ssandxo op uapuodsor ay aanbat ype UO! oe dant ny iat ame mrionesnhinat 2 pap yuo aaywuuonsanb YW apa : mean een ee ota pre pet pe 107 BuO} 00) 1 s ” ays pur afdurs uoneindod pap, pinoy snonsonb ay, od fe won eure e220 Co earl aed a ae 4ppus 9 wo} vopnaugguy Buyotjoo way pon haar nts WaLIMDOp ¥ SH azTeUUONsanh, v puods: Ib payead Aypnyaser We —_ - 4a wapuodsar ay dq p 34,01 suopsonb pay aureruonsang, a-uado wwuioyysangy ‘aan92{qo 122! juvaapaiy pure parepino aq deter spu02as autog + puysiapun op zaprsino ue 40} yougp AoW MoRTEIUALUNIOG 6 oqpavasas otp 0} U9AtT OU 9uv SAY [NUDPYUOD + aq uo sayy penuryy + “aqua aq Av vep axp yo auuos puv ysnosp oF 0} atrosan aq Uv sayy [enUEP, . fe ysnoayy of oF TupUNsUO aUIN sty sadequeapesig “spaogan ut “aulop 2q OF 24) Moy, ueyp aye auop AyemIae axe sHUTIp SAUAL 9Up JO LAPE POOR LSIAID + -pourrigo st woneunoput pury-asiyy + s ayy Aq paonpond aq wnt WU UONRUTTOFUT SMOYS + porayfoo st YD WEP ENE ay sMOYS + aq) UII para|Joo st LEP MOY SMOYS + “spaoaaa wiaysds tuoay payao|joo s} MoNMUAOFUT ayeANIDY + safujurapy quays. SHtUNdOp jUdIAyIP UO payvada AyuUssa2>un Plo UE VoRwULOFUL Russe puy oF ysdyouL ayy spay npe Wrst OF APIO UE SsIapfousyLys Jo ysw oF sauwuUONsead 1. “Waysds OYP YEN paafoaut ate os eauNop Ruysreg “uoHeUopUt puy 8 Hunsiva Turdpays/Rurseapmads saayortt wonradsuy prory ouw yyy sdais pay ose eur doy uonsadsuy progay ‘suatiarnbor swiaumnsop 10H septouey ue 9M MPH YA At oy aapyo UF SAO} L 2 o4p HOU AEWU AWOpUOsor ayy ranimtodlestp 0} peo} Ketu anny ry OM AN a sus want aq w VoNVUIaU paseig. “Ss ee Y oo AW sonbyUYD9) MaLAgo}UL Pood als st ouuyy e TunMsuos ou stay “¢ Snouruour uruiar oF yroytd °T NL oqawvasar ayy sours aatsuadya safivpueapesidl sw tows “SMUON MOLI 94 OF Jaeay OF geQuestions are very simple to answer. It saves time as questionnaires can be distril Respondents can fill questionnaires at their own pace. Give guarantees confidential of information, thereby en utes and then collected later. couraging respondents to give accurate information. They are cheap to use as travel expense can be low Disadvantages Questions must be well thought out and precise. Some questions are left blank. Some questionnaires may not be returned. Biased information can be collected. Respondents usually do not fill the correct information. It is difficult to analyse information collect using questionnaires. ‘They are expensive to use if the postal system is used. Abusive information can be filled by respondents. Observation To get a better understanding of a user in their current work environment, the analyst may observe the user themselves or view the actual system in operation. User observation is helpful in assisting the analyst by getting a full grasp of how the user interacts with the system. Observation can be passive or active. In passive observation, the analysts does not interact with the user while they are working. ‘They simply observe and take notes. While in active observation, the consultant will ask the user questions during the session. Advantages First-hand information is collected. May identify problems that the users did not see Accurate and reliable information can be obtained, Only areas of interest can be observed, ‘The researcher can take part in operating the system thereby getting insight on how the system operates, Disadvantages a information can be collected as people may pretend when they are being obser a serve oe sers may become nervous, and not perform as they normally would. Ne researcher may not understand some of the activities being observed. Itis time consuming to collect the required information, ‘ The researcher may interrupt some of the activities being done. More expensive than other methods : Mt may still be difficult to capture enough information in one many . sessions to verify information, Analysts may be biased in what they expected to se session, There is need to for ¢, and what they actually observed: 150Activity 6.4 1, Learners in groups, de: elected in activity 2. Learners collect data using Sign an ce 4 8M and produce at least two data collection tools for the area one of the data collecti took Miicsrmers havea ci ion tools they produced, 3. have a class discussion on how effective the data collection tools were in finding data from the users, 4 Activity 6.5 Suppose in a bank all customers loan application forms are processed manually, ‘the bank is having many new customers every year, So, the number of customers in the bank has in- creased, Manual processing of loan application forms is becoming very difficult. The man- agement is considering the option of computerising the loan processing system, ‘The systems analyst would need to investigate the existing system, Find the limitations of the manual loan application system. How would computerisation of the loan application help the bank? I ii s aries aerany ystem Development Life Cycle Models such as Waterfall model, V shaped : model, Evolutionary Prototyping model and Spiral Method that can be used to develop new systems. ; 2, Lara systems may take several months or even years to complete,“worsds Hunspraaqy jo stwaygoad 0} suonnyos sdo ‘suarsds Hunstx9 Jo stuoqqoad Hurdjuapy wy sday oyar uosiode “ys Aap pur sudisap usdquur wiaists y asdqeue stuatshg Ov eis way Wa¥sés e doypaap 01 uayea 9q ues rey Lruaudopra worskseapdy ayy uomdojasog waysig 109 Pagaitr sown yaos yey suaed Jo oRo{Jo> VmNa}SKg sunsay, jo Aaessoq5, 29pH0 ALM UY saeys a4 OF sADJ—L apo “wot ay suon “tosqo pur Hyde paosas ‘onjeumopsonb ‘waa son ae won paqo> vip Jo spowpue ai “syso9 a4 pure ou yuarudoyarap, Hl oveurisa paw Raypuy yey Ho C49 ‘syUqEAHsHoD pure adogs palo A Suypursropan Hiv MOR ayHUAp o}oud 94 JapuN somANE rWdeyy of 2 stoneptian doy ‘s1osn wo 4 auton deut qHays4s- awe ojasop or HoneLAOy conueuaTUTeU pak uoy, sop AMWAY SINAyPUL Wa}Sds op vs mau tucloonoyy ay ty osaoal a walt 490 W SF ySSpoU stUD}SKS tu HLF ) pun spsoo paonpor Mop Huy gouty A son AreunuingMultiple Choice questions 2. Which of the following is a j ie A. producing progeam seciscaog ot 2S Anat B. carries out feasibility study C. writing the program code D. testing the program A system is a collection of components that work together to accomplish a A. goal B. stage C. process D. project ‘The sources of system projects may come from different areas except. system users system programmers system management system competitors POPP 5. ‘The preliminary investigation is also referred to as A. feasibility phase B. planning phase C. design phase D. analysis phase 6 Most system users are unhappy about using manual systems. One reason is A. More information is produced B. There is improved service delivery C. There is lack of system security D. The system has better performance i an interview: The following is an advantage of carrying om a A. Itis expensive since it involves ue Fad B. ‘The respondent may give biased 1"! C. Difficult to remain anonymous D, First-hand information is collect 1538. Which of the following is NOT involved in identifying D. system problems? ystem programmers em users ‘stem management ksystem management 9. To get a better understanding of a user in their current work environment, the systems analyst uses A. B. interview record sampling C. observation D. questionnaire 10. After the preliminary investigation, the system analyst may recommend the following except A. leave the system as it is B. hire new system management C. improve the current system D. develop a new system Structured Questions 1. Define the following terms: i. system system development life cycle. [2] iil List in order the stages ofthe system development life cycle. (7 2 a. State and explain any three reasons that will motivate an organisation to develop a new con puterised system. [6] b. You have been promoted to the position of a systems analyst in a local insurance company: Outline your five principal duties in the insurance company (5] 3. a. Give one reason why the systems analyst must correctly identify the problems b. of the current system. ol &. State any two activities performed under problem identification Q] 4. Name any three groups of people who are involved in identifying the problems in the syste™ (3) © Give two reasons why system users are important in the development of the system. [2] 4. a. Give any two names that refers to preliminary iny i esti 2 b. After the preliminary investigatio Maree ie n is carried out, th m: ‘ll pi , the 5; e three recommendations to the management, ( ystems analyst will give the Dne of the recor 5 ‘The i 5 mmenda ve. existing system. Give the other two possible recomn the anil is to impror pl 154{s] uonvaresqo ‘P Sunjdues p1099y > areuuonsond “4 “spoyrew wonsajo> en salon“ 1 sep Samo} a0 sBeyuEapes ony pu safeyueape oan 28D